Have you recently left Australia to live overseas, or are you planning a move in the future? You will be considered either an Australian resident or non-resident for tax purposes, and this will have a substantial impact on the amount of tax you will pay on both your Australian and overseas-sourced income. Some careful planning prior to leaving Australia will... Read more
By Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy & Chief Economist from Oliver’s Insights, AMP Capital, Edition 27 2015 Key Points As expected the RBA left interest rates on hold. While it’s a close call, chances are that the RBA will cut rates again before year end reflecting the poor business investment outlook, greater than expected weakness in commodity prices, the... Read more
A bias towards investing in local shares and property is common and understandable. Unfortunately for many Australian investors this means missing out on the potential rewards of international investments – healthy returns and risk reduction through diversification of their investments across asset classes. Each asset class usually exhibits different risk and returns to various market cycles and events. In turn... Read more
From 1st July 2015, the first home saver accounts scheme is abolished. All first home saver accounts will be treated like any other account held with a provider. Restrictions on withdrawals will be removed from 1 July 2015. You can withdraw and use the balance of your account however you like from this date. More information available from the ATO... Read more
The lending industry is responding to social changes in property buying. As prices continue to rise, first home-buyers are increasingly looking for novel ways to get started. Lenders have now established a class of home loan specifically for buying a property with friends. The new style of loan enables pooling of money with friends, or family, without the usual shared... Read more
By Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy & Chief Economist from Oliver’s Insights, AMP Capital, Edition 24 2015 Key Points Just as the rise in Chinese shares had little economic impact it’s hard to see the pullback having a significant economic impact either. Chinese economic growth is likely to remain “around 7%” with monetary and fiscal easing helping. The volatility... Read more
By Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy & Chief Economist from Oliver’s Insights, AMP Capital, Edition 23 2015 Key Points The Greek No vote means more uncertainty ahead regarding Greece, with significantly heightened risk of aGreek exit from the Euro. The threat of a flow on to other Eurozone countries is likely to keep markets on edge in the short... Read more
If you’ve read the news, you would already be aware that Greece’s referendum result is causing much speculation on what comes next for Greece and the Eurozone. For our clients, we would like to reassure you that we are keeping abreast of the potential impact on global markets, with your investments top-of-mind. At this stage, we do not anticipate any... Read more
By Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy & Chief Economist from Oliver’s Insights, AMP Capital, Edition 22 2015 Key Points A “reform for funding” deal between Greece and its creditors looks likely and may now be agreed this week. This would be positive for Eurozone assets. It would then have to pass various parliaments though. Alternatively if no deal is... Read more
By Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy & Chief Economist from Oliver’s Insights, AMP Capital, Edition 21 2015 Key Points This note focuses on the debate around the four major “tax concessions” in Australia: negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount, dividend imputation and superannuation. Removing negative gearing for property investment and dividend imputation will only add to distortions in... Read more